Use Snipping Tool to capture screen shots

Sometimes the easiest way to make a copy of something is to take a snapshot of your screen—this is what Snipping Tool does. Use it to save and share news stories, movie reviews, or recipes.

You can capture part or all of your PC screen, add notes, save the snip, or email it right from the Snipping Tool window.

Snipping Tool window

To open Snipping Tool

Open Snipping Tool by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping Search (or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the lower-right corner of the screen,
moving the mouse pointer up, and then clicking Search), entering Snipping Tool in the search box, and then tapping or clicking Snipping Tool.

You can capture the following types of snips:

Free-form Snip. Draw any shape around an object with your finger, mouse, or tablet pen.

Rectangular Snip. Drag the cursor around an object to form a rectangle.

Window Snip. Choose a window—like a browser window or a dialog box.

Full-screen Snip. Capture the entire screen.

Capture a snip

In Snipping Tool, tap or click the arrow next to the New button, choose the kind of snip you want, and then pick the area of your screen that you want to capture.
The snip is automatically copied to the Snipping Tool window.

Tip

You can add notes to a snip by writing or drawing on or around the snip.

Capture a snip of a menu

After you open Snipping Tool, open the menu that you want a picture of.

Press Ctrl+PrtScn.

Tap or click the arrow next to the New button, choose the kind of snip you want, and then pick the area of the screen that you want to capture.

Save a snip

After you capture a snip, tap or click the Save Snip button.

In the Save As dialog box, enter a file name, location, and file type, and then tap or click Save.

Remove the URL

When you capture a snip from a browser window and save it as an HTML file, the URL appears below the snip. To prevent the URL from showing up:

Tap or click Tools, and then tap or click Options.

In the Snipping Tools Options dialog box, clear the Include URL below snips (HTML only) check box, and then tap or click OK.

Share a snip

After you capture a snip, tap or click the arrow next to the Send Snip button, and then choose whether you’d like to send the snip in the body of your email or as an attachment.

You can use Snipping Tool to capture a screen shot, or snip, of any object on your screen, and then annotate, save, or share the image.

Snipping Tool

You can capture any of the following types of snips:

Free-form Snip. Draw a free-form shape around an object.

Rectangular Snip. Drag the cursor around an object to form a rectangle.

Window Snip. Select a window, such as a browser window or dialog box, that you want to capture.

Full-screen Snip. Capture the entire screen.

After you capture a snip, it's automatically copied to the Clipboard and the mark-up window. From the mark-up window, you can annotate, save, or share the snip. The following procedures explain how to use Snipping Tool.

You can use Snipping Tool to capture a screen shot, or snip, of any object on your screen, and then annotate, save, or share the image. Simply use a mouse or tablet pen to capture any of the following types of snips:

Free-form Snip. Draw an irregular line, such as a circle or a triangle, around an object.

Rectangular Snip. Draw a precise line by dragging the cursor around an object to form a rectangle.

Window Snip. Select a window, such as a browser window or dialog box, that you want to capture.

Full-screen Snip. Capture the entire screen when you select this type of snip.

After you capture a snip, it's automatically copied to the mark-up window, where you can annotate, save, or share the snip.

Snipping Tool

Note

When Snipping Tool is open, a white overlay appears on your screen until you capture a snip. To turn off the overlay, open Snipping Tool, and then click Options. In the Snipping Tool Options dialog box, clear the Show screen overlay when Snipping Tool is active check box, and then click OK.